Guide to Petfood Forum China 2014: Focus on pet nutrition

Petfood Forum China 2014, scheduled for August 22, focuses
on nutrition, ingredients and formulation, the foundation for all petfood
products and for new product development. During this third edition of the
premier, exclusive conference for the Chinese petfood industry, experts will
provide the latest information on the petfood product and ingredients market
and key ingredient categories for meeting pets’ nutritional needs. The in-depth
sessions explain how to formulate products to satisfy varied and sometimes
conflicting requirements (marketing, nutritional and regulatory) as well as how
to process your petfoods to best deliver nutrient and product benefits.

Petfood Forum China also offers several networking
opportunities and the chance to visit with leading industry suppliers. Held at the
Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center, the conference is co-located
with Pet Fair Asia, one of the
largest trade shows for the Chinese pet industry. This year Pet Fair Asia,
which runs August 21â€“24, features a pavilion of petfood supplier exhibitors
(www.petfairasia.com).

9:45-10:45Opening session: Global petfood market overview and update
on new products— Paula Flores, head of pet care research for Euromonitor
International, provides an update on global pet care with a focus on petfood, information
and data on the China pet care and petfood market, information on and examples
of product trends, an overview of types of ingredients used by product category,
plus market, product and ingredient projections.

Flores joined
Euromonitor in June 2008 as a research analyst. In her current post, she has
direct responsibility over the content and quality of Euromonitor’s pet care
research, which provides strategic analysis and industry insights for 54
countries around the world. Flores has a degree in law from the University of
Lisbon and a master degree in market research from Westminster University. She
has published articles in magazines such as Petfood
Industry, Pets International and Campaign
Asia, and participated in the BBC Fast Track program.

10:45-11:15Coffee
break

11:15-12:45Workshop
session 1: Macronutrient- and micronutrient-driven
petfood formulation —Sean
J. Delaney, DVM, MS, DACVN, founder of DVM Consulting Inc., explains unique
benefits of the major categories of petfood macronutrients and micronutrients
and key points to consider—including challenges—when formulating with these
ingredients. He covers lifestage nutrition (protein and fat for growth,
reproduction and senior petfoods), condition-specific nutrition (protein in
urinary tract health and fat in weight management) and product categories
(protein, fat and carbohydrates in premium and natural petfoods), as well as
essential micronutrients for lifestages, conditions and specific petfood
categories.

Delaney received a bachelor of science in zoology from
University of California-Santa Barbara, a master of science in nutrition from
University of California-Davis (UCD), a doctor of veterinary medicine degree
from UCD and completed the first full-time clinical nutrition residency at UCD.
He is also a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (DACVN).
Delaney was a clinical faculty member at UCD between 2003â€“2013, training
numerous DACVNs now in industry and academia. He also ran R&D and was
the senior executive VP of Natura Pet Products through its acquisition by
Procter & Gamble. He founded DVM Consulting Inc. in 2003, which has consulted
with numerous global petfood brands, and is the co-inventor of Balance IT
online formulation software and nutritional products. Delaney co-edited a
textbook, Applied Veterinary Clinical
Nutrition (Wiley Blackwell, 2012), is the former chair of the ACVN
executive board, has hosted his own radio show on petfood and speaks nationally
and internationally on veterinary nutrition both at the academic and industry
levels.

12:45-14:00 Lunch

14:00-15:30Workshop
session 2: Formulating petfoods with
functional ingredients —Anton Beynen, PhD, head of research and
development for Vobra Special Petfoods, presents the latest research on
formulation and use of functional ingredients in economic, premium and
veterinary petfood diets. Ingredient
mixtures should not only meet the nutrient requirements of dogs and cats, but
also meet the preferences and aversions of different pet owners. To make
health claims for functional ingredients, you must also meet regulatory requirements;
Beynen explains the degree of substantiation necessary to make such claims.

Beynen is a
part-time professor of animal nutrition at Rajamangala University of
Technology-Isan, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand, and at King Saud University, Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia. An award-winning professor, he previously served on the faculties
of Wageningen University in the Netherlands, University of Indonesia, Jakarta,
and Utrecht University in the Netherlands, teaching basic and applied animal
nutrition to students of veterinary and biomedical sciences. He has also
developed training courses for veterinary students and veterinarians on dog and
cat nutrition and dietetics. Beynen earned a master of science in human
nutrition, wrote his doctoral thesis on the regulation of fat metabolism and
still carries out research, mainly on the role of diet in health and disease in
dogs and cats. He has served on the editorial board of 12 international
journals, is supervisor of 51 completed PhD theses and is (co)author of more
than 700 publications.

15:30-16:00 Coffee break

16:00-17:30Workshop
session 3: Processing parameters to ensure nutrient, formulation and product
viability —Will Henry, director of technology and research and development
for Extru-Tech Inc., reviews
major petfood ingredients and how they affect (and are affected by) the
extrusion process, focusing on processing parameters and their impact on
ingredient properties and nutritional contributions to the final product. In
addition to raw materials, he will discuss the latest research on how system
configurations (the equipment) and processing conditions affect how closely you
are able to meet your final product specifications.

In his role at Extru-Tech, Henry addresses petfood
manufacturers and audiences around the globe about extrusion, processing and
food safety systems. He joined Extru-Tech in 2006 after serving as senior
project engineer with Bachelor Controls. Henry holds a bachelor of science in
electrical engineering from Kansas State University and is certified in HACCP,
BSL-2 and as an SQF practitioner.